


On the Surface

by goingtothetardis



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Domestics, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mention of injury/bruising, Pining, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 22:29:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15895410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/pseuds/goingtothetardis
Summary: The Doctor tends to Rose's wounds after she's injured in an explosion.





	On the Surface

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mollybrown816](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mollybrown816/gifts).



> Mollybrown816 sent me a few different prompts on tumblr, and I decided to combine them: "The tender ache when you press against bruises" and “Look at me - just breathe, okay?” + I chose Nine/Rose. 
> 
> Unbeta'd. 
> 
> Thank you!!

“Does it hurt?” the Doctor asks, running his fingers gently over one of the splotchy, dark purple bruises on Rose’s leg. 

Rose flinches and nods. “Yeah, but, ‘s okay, Doctor. Do what you need to do.” She meets the Doctor’s eyes, and her heartbeat quickens at the concern she finds in his gaze. 

The Doctor stands up and walks over to one of the cabinets in the medbay. Opening it, he spends a moment poking around before selecting a small jar and returning to her side. 

“It’s not okay,” he says, pushing her jeans up a little higher to see the full extent of the bruising. 

When pushing it up as high as they’ll go reveals no end to the bruise, his jaw clenches and he looks at her with a steely gaze. Emotions he usually keeps locked up tight are written all over his face. He’s angry, she’s sure of it, but also concerned and scared for her well-being. 

“Look at me. Just breathe, okay?” she says, placing her hand over his, which sits gently on her leg. 

The Doctor’s lips quirk up in a half-hearted smile. “Only you, Rose, would comfort the angry Time Lord, when you’re the one hurt.”

Smiling back, Rose clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “That’s me.”

The Doctor shakes his head and returns his attention to his examination of her leg. “This salve should fix you right up, but it might be a bit tender rubbing it in.” He unscrews the lid off the jar and dips a finger inside, then pauses as he looks up at her face. “Do you want to–?

Waving her hand at him, Rose says, “No, you do it.” 

With a nod, the Doctor scoops out a bit of salve and spreads it over the bruise by her ankle, his fingers tenderly rubbing it in in a circular motion.  Despite the acute ache, Rose gradually relaxes and simply watches as his hands move up her leg. 

It’s unsurprisingly distracting, and Rose struggles to keep her cheeks from flushing in response to his touch while her hyperactive imagination considers how his talented hands and fingers could be put to use… elsewhere. In some ways, however, she welcomes the distraction, as the last thing she wants to think about right now is the overwhelming panic she’d experienced when the prison she’d been running out of had exploded around her, trapping her right leg and hip. 

Thankfully, neither leg nor hip are fractured, but the superficial tissue damage is extensive. 

When the Doctor reaches the end of available skin, he wipes his hands off on a cloth. He clears his throat and, if she’s not mistaken, the tips of his ears tinge slightly pink. 

“You’ll have to remove your trousers for me to get the rest,” he says, averting his gaze. 

“Might need some help,” Rose says, wiggling slightly on the table. “It’s a bit hard to move right now.” 

The Doctor glances at her, meeting her gaze as though searching for further permission, before taking a deep breath and standing from his stool. Rose unfastens the buttons of her jeans and lifts her hips as best as she can. The Doctor tugs them down her legs, and she winces as the material scrapes uncomfortably against her wounds. 

Rose watches as the Doctor sets his jaw at her reaction and sets her jeans to the side. He raises the examination table and examines the bruising over and around her hip, studying her skin with a professional, unaffected air. She can’t help the way her breath catches in her throat when his fingers begin rubbing the salve under the cotton band of her knickers over her hip. 

“This okay, Rose?” The Doctor lifts his fingers from his skin and waits for her response. 

All she can do is nod, the words failing her as she struggles to maintain her breathing, and a part of her wonders if the Doctor is really as composed as he looks. 

“There. All done,” he says after several minutes and moves to put away the salve. 

“How long’s it gonna take?” she asks.

He glances at her from the cabinet, and already it looks as though he’s more relaxed, as though the tension has drained from him while applying the healing ointment. “Couple of hours and you should be as good as new.”

“Help me to the library? I was thinking we could watch a movie and have a cuddle.” Rose bites her lip at her last suggestion, hoping it’s not too suggestive, but the Doctor’s thorough (and healing) touch had emboldened her to act on her feelings. 

His blue eyes widen in surprise, but much to her pleasure, he cracks a smile. “I suppose I could do with a cuddle. Only with you, though. And no tellin’ Jackie.”

Rose smirks.  _ Definitely not.  _ “You sure it’s not too domestic?” 

The Doctor walks back to the table, lays a blanket over her lap, and scoops her up in his arms. “Nah,” he says. “Not with you.”  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Find me at goingtothetardis.tumblr.com and now on Pillowfort with the same username!


End file.
